Common herbal tonic for pain in pregnancy contributes to male infertility —Study

HERBAL medications are commonly viewed by pregnant women as a safe, natural substitute for conventional drugs and they are frequently used to maintain their health or manage non-life threatening issues.

Pregnant women use herbal medicines for a variety of reasons such as for pregnancy-associated disorders, including nausea, vomiting and labour enhancement, as well as for illnesses and diseases due to pregnancy such as fatigue, respiratory and skin issues and nutritional benefits.

Despite minimal scientific evidence demonstrating the safety profile of herbal therapy, experts warn that pregnant women should be wary of consuming Aerva lanata to relieve stomach pains and prevent miscarriage.

In a new study, the researchers said consuming Aerva lanata during pregnancy can have a toxic effect on the testes of the unborn baby, possibly contributing to infertility later in life.

The study was reported in the International Journal of Reproductive Biomedicine.

Studies in animals showed that the administration of the crude extract of Aerva lanata at different doses at the critical period of organ formation during pregnancy disrupted the sperm production in the juvenile testes of Wistar rats. It also affected the space between the seminiferous tubules, the site of formation of sperm.

In Nigeria, the Yoruba refer to Aerva lanata as Ewi-owo or Ewe Aje, while the Hausa call it Furfurata. It has been reported to be used to treat kidney-related infections, fever, guinea worm infection, diabetes, bleeding from a cut and eye disease. Also, pregnant women take its extract as a tonic to relieve stomach pains and prevent miscarriage.

The researchers at the University of Benin had investigated the testicular toxicity of the crude aqueous extract of Aerva lanata on testes of offspring of 25 dams. Group A served as control; groups B, C, D and E received 200, 400, 800 and 1000 mg/kg body weight of Aerva lanata extract, respectively, beginning from 12th to 19th day of gestation.

The pups delivered of dams were weighed, observed and sacrificed six weeks after they were delivered. The testes of the male pups were obtained to be examined.

No gross malformation was observed in the treatment groups, the number of pups/litter was significantly reduced in group E, pups weight analysis showed a significant reduction in groups C and E and the mean pup testes weight was significantly reduced in groups B, C, D and E when compared with control.

In addition, the treated pup testes tissues showed varying degrees of disruption and distortion of the cellular arrangements of the germinal epithelium in a dose dependent manner compared to the control. The germinal epithelium of the seminiferous tubules in testis produces sperms in males.

In this study, a significant decrease was observed in the litter size (pups/litter) when dams were administered with 1,000 mg/kg body weight of Aerva lanata. This decrease may have been due to its reported ability to cause the abortion of the unborn in the womb.

In addition, there was a significant decrease in body weight of offspring from dams treated with 400 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg body weight, while the pup testes weight was significantly decreased in all groups that received Aerva lanata extracts.

The study documented a 20 percent and 30 percent pre-implantation loss and a pregnancy failure of 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively. This study also showed no movement of rat spermatozoa within 60 seconds of administration of 10 percent concentration of the extract.

This anti-fertility attribute was also observed when 400 mg/kg body weight of the crude aqueous extract was administered, alongside mild degeneration of the sperm production series in the seminiferous epithelium.

The researchers suggested “the role of Aerva lanata on male fertility at this dose considered in our research is similar to results obtained from a previous study where the extract significantly reduced sperm count and motility of male animals. These findings may have implications for consumption of Aerva lanata during pregnancy. The implications of these findings for human fertility and gestation require further investigation.”

Some medicinal plants may be safe to use during certain trimesters of pregnancy and harmful at other stages. Also, some, when consumed in amounts typically found in foods, are safe but considered possibly unsafe when used orally in medicinal amounts. This goes for herbs such as garlic, nutmeg, basil, sage, ginger and turmeric.

Eucalyptus, bitter kola, mistletoe, peppermint leaves and oil, aloe-vera, black cohosh and neem are other herbs that are also used during pregnancy.

But available studies suggest ginger in high doses can cause abortion. It can also cause thinning of blood, stomach discomfort and heartburn.

Pregnant women should also avoid using garlic prior to surgery, including caesarean as it may interfere with blood clotting. Another untoward effect of using garlic during pregnancy is that it may aggravate heartburn.

Even herbal teas may pose a risk to pregnant people. For instance, evidence suggests that large amounts of peppermint tea can stimulate menstruation and excessive chamomile tea intake has been linked to miscarriage; red raspberry leaf tea could also potentially promote uterine contractions.